Comet Elenin-October 16, 2011-The end of the world? Do not worry!!!

                                                Elenin comet orbit. Credit: curtrenz.com

         C/2010 X1 or Elenin was the closest to the Sun (or perihelion), on September 10th, 2011 at a distance of 72,170,000 km. If not collapsed, will be closest to Earth on October 16, 2011, at a distance of 34,980,000 km or a little closer than the planet Venus. Comet has a relative speed of 86.000 km / h. Before it's weak brightness in August when approaching the Sun, it was estimated then that will reach about magnitude 6 in October 2011.
The comet was discovered by Russian Leonid Elenin with a reflector telescope of 450 mm. mirror on 10 December 2010.

Disasters that can be caused by Elenin:

          In these moments, conspiracy theorists have abandoned the world ending on December 21, 2012 to make way for a more urgent matter: the threat of Elenin comet, a comet with a long trajectory, a piece of ice and rock left over from the early days of Solar System , moving around the Sun in orbits that can take more than 200 years until comming back.
When comets or asteroids are discovered, their orbits are quite uncertain. It takes several months of intense observation to determine their real orbit.
On the Internet, like on every astronomical event that is coming, a solar eclipse, a Moon eclipse, an asteroid, comet, etc.. , apocalyptic news, like Doomsday appear, which should not be trusted, but should be considered just for information :

- increased radiation around the northern hemisphere.
-Elenin would be not a comet, but a red dwarf, and is told by some, Nibiru, a mythological planet that is expected to pass near Earth, this happening on a cyclical basis, which will make the planet to jump from its axis, causing the extinction of life on Earth. But comets are very small and shrouded in a thin cloud of gas and dust, and the only way to be sure of their size, is to visit them with a spaceship .

 -others say that the comet is responsible for the March 10 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
-some other sites claim that Elenin will change our orbit, or will cause high tides, or will interact with our magnetic field, and modify the Earth's rotation. Such statements are pure fiction. Because what they do not know is comets have not a magnetic field, no matter how large they may be. So the Earth has nothing to interact with.

                                                             Credit: STEREO B, NASA<For those who like my articles, would be nice to pay attention on advertising that appear in the blog by a click, because it is the only way I could buy one day a better telescope.>

Posted in: Astronomy news